Radio doings (Dec 1930-Jun1932)

Hallelujah I | Continued from Page 22 ) on a train near Audubon, Iowa, an old colored woman, shaking with palsy, came over to them. She had recognized them when she heard them rehearsing on the train, and wanted to tell thorn how much their songs meant to her and her husband in Audubon. He was blind and ill; there were few colored people in the town, and they had been faithfully tuning in for the quartette on their delapidated little radio set. In gratitude, she opened her frayed old purse, and handed them a dollar. They are very modest, and information about themselves has to be fairly dragged out of them. They never quarrel or squabble, although they work, play, and even live together. Only once during their eight years together have they been separated. Their car stalled in three feet of mud and water in a country road in Kansas, and they all got out, barefooted, to push it out. Chiles stepped on a piece of glass and cut his foot so badly he had to be sent back to a hospital. The rest went on and played the job without him. They now have a very modest little house in Los Angeles where they "batch it." Although they are successful and do not have to worry about money, as they used to, they spend very little on themselves. Maceo Johnson supports his mother, who is in Van Buren, and all of the boys send money to their families. At present, many of their relatives are among the drought sufferers, and depend largely upon them. The song they like best is "A Farmer's Life for Me." It is a lively number and affords Hughes an opportunity to use some of his animal imitations. He can mimic any noise from a trombone to a dog fight. Thousands of fans do not believe that his banjo imitation in the "Farmer's Life" is purely vocal. Letters come in daily, asking which one plays a banjo. Hughes also has mastered one of the most difficult feats known to mimicry. He can imitate perfectly the sound of a starting automobile, from the growl of the starter through the shifting of gears. Occasionally he imitates a violin, but it is such a strain on his voice that he rarely attempts it. The quartette's fan mail includes letters from all over the continent. One old gentleman wrote from Alaska, saying that he listened to them regularly on his little crystal set. They have worked for motion picture companies, having sung in "The Southerner," with Lawrence Tibbett; in the Pathe picture, "Swing High," and synchronized for "Abraham Lincoln." They have appeared on the same programs with such film notables as Mary Pickford, Bebe Daniels, Wallace Beery, and Francis X. Bushman, Jr., and once played a vaudeville engagement with Eva Tanguay. Among their admirers are such celebrities as Al Johnson, Richard Dix and Texas Guinan, who have been backstage visitors to compliment them. Under the name of the "Four Wanderers," the quartette made several Negro spiritual records for Victor. One of their latest songs is an arrangement of the "Peanut Vendor." They were the first choral organization to sing it without accompaniment. They proved to Will Rogers that he was wrong when he said recently, "One thing about the Peanut Vendor song; nobody can whistle it or sing it without an orchestra." FOR S ALE ! A SUCCESSFUL AERIAL AND GROUND BUSINESS Five years' proven business. We will still manufacture the merchandise. You take over management. No cash involved. Aerials and grounds handled by all jobbers and dealers now. Wire or write for information. Box 8271 RADIO DOINGS Junior Metal Model New Eby Products for the New Year Our Volume Controls 1. Are substantially built. 2. Are sealed and lubricated. 3. Have ceramic core with soldered internal connections. 4. Have zero hop-off due to copper-plated resistance strips soldered to contact point. Assure you "Durability and Performance" THE H. H. EBY MFG. CO., Inc. Philadelphia, Pa. W. C. HITT, Representative 1384 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. RADIO SOUND -TELEVISION Taught by Experts on Modern Apparatus Mali coupon for Further information Day and Evening Classes I .^,1,1s,ti,,I,V" ,"f ^"'""'"'"es cam | Please send me Radio and Sound Information. Radio Institute of California , Name 1 Address 1117 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles DRexel 6753 | City and state D.i RADIO DOINGS Page For+y-two